I live here in Los ANgeles, born and raised. First of all, anyone with an import around here will get a ticket for their annoying exhaust, its a fact
Second, i have had my car for 4 years with shorties, cams and an o/r h pipe and let me tell you, its really loud. I have never gotten pulled over or hassled. Their are hundreds of other cars, camaros, stangs, corvettes, trans ams etc that are just as loud or louder, and no tickets. To the op, stop being afraid and step your life up. Just by pass smog

 

It's actually only the tru-x portion of the pipe that is 50 state legal. (basically just changes the stock h- to an x, but the cats and everything remain stock) As we all the know the h or x crossover pipe is after the cats anyway and would be useless to just replace that. It is in fact illegal to remove a working catalytic converter in the state of California, and only OBDII certified cats may be used as replacements.

The problem is that the aftermarket cats just don't do their job all that well. They aren't built to the same standards as the stock converters. The state of CA isn't going to certify a part if it makes a car pollute more by it's use. That is the whole purpose of CARB/EO approval. Aftermarket companies send in all the data showing before and after emission results using their product compared to stock, attach a fat check to the state, and if the car runs as clean as stock or better with the aftermarket part, then the state will usually certify that part legal for street use.

 

First of all, anyone that believes that "high flow cats" actually flow significantly better than stock ones obviously has not looked inside a catalytic converter. The way they work is by RESTRICTING flow. That's like putting in a "high flow" dam in a river. That being said, it has nothing to do with the flow rate of the cat that makes it illegal. It has to do with the fact that the aftermarket cats aren't OBDII compliant. They aren't certified for street use in CA.

As far as your legal statements, sorry that is complete BS. There are laws in place that state whether or not parts are legal for street use if they have anything to do with emissions related equipment. Modifying a car in any way is not illegal in CA. Are you telling me that putting in an aftermarket CD player is illegal? NO....neither is replacing your muffler. If the car remains under the legal DB limit when measured according to the law, then he can absolutely not be fined for that. Cops can ticket away for anything if they want to. They can give you a ticket for having blond hair, that doesn't mean it's going to hold up in court.

If you know for a fact that your friend's car is below the legal DB limit, then tell him to contest that ticket in court. I doubt the cop will even show up if he isn't 100% sure that the car was too loud.

 

its not that big of a deal to switch a mid pipe out once a year or every 2 years lol.

 

But it is if you get pulled over and get a roadside ticket for too loud of exhaust and have to go get a smog test because the car smells funny. Cops over here in PA will give you a fix it ticket to get cats on there and if you dont...major fines. Im leaving my cats on. Sounds good the way it is. Im learning to love my exhaust all over again.

 

I think cars sound way better with cats anyways..A catted x pip with a straight through muffler is proble the best sound ever.

 

^^ Your sig is funny as hell!

 

But HOSS, what happened to that chick getting punched at the bar?

 

I live in Redlands, CA, an outer city of LA. And I've had the same experience. Lots of people I know with import style cars with any modifications get hassled, and I have not.

I was just leaving some information. I don't give a damn about emissions, I run a completely illegal exhaust setup.

Firstly, I don't really give a **** because none of my **** is legal anyways. But just for the sake of false information:

I think you're right. The cd player thing was off base though, I think you knew I was referring to exhaust and engine modification.
I went back and tried to find the code that stated that you aren't allowed to have non OEM exhaust equipment, and I couldn't find it. I could swear I read the exact thing within about 8 months of now. I was reading the exhaust laws(not like it matters for my case).

This bothers me, although the language this is written in is about impossible to understand:

http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/cgi-bin/wa...ction=retrieve
http://law.justia.com/california/cod...150-27159.html

 

I admit, I was being a little of a dick with the CD player thing, but I have heard that statement before "any modification is illegal" and was just pointing out that it is simply not true. A lot of drivers get pushed around by police simply because they do not know the laws regarding modifications and therefore don't really know how to defend themselves. It goes without saying IMO that if you are going to mod your car you had better know the legal limits of what you are doing. Kinda like if you are about to buy a gun, you should have a good knowledge of local, state, and federal gun laws.

If you dissect that paragraph about exhaust and get rid of the jargon, it basically says it is a misdemeanor for an auto shop and or personnel to sell, install, or even offer for sale any exhaust part unless it meets certain standards. Those standards are probably included in a list following that paragraph. It definitely does not say that any aftermarket exhaust is not permitted